


Mint, and a Hint of Cedar

by oh_hey_mickey



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Blushing, Boys In Love, Brooms, Competition, Death Eaters, Escape, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Gay Sirius Black, Getting Together, James Potter is a Good Friend, M/M, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Marauders Friendship (Harry Potter), No Smut, Not Canon Compliant, POV Sirius Black, Roonil.wazlib competition, Sirius Black is a great dancer, Sneaking Out, Weddings, Young Remus Lupin, Young Sirius Black, wolfstar, wolfstar fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:41:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26963842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oh_hey_mickey/pseuds/oh_hey_mickey
Summary: For the roonil.wazlib writing competition on instagram, using the prompt, "Sneaking out at night." No trigger warnings apply.Sirius needs out of Bellatrix's wedding, and his friends come to save the day.
Relationships: Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes (background), Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 2
Kudos: 56





	Mint, and a Hint of Cedar

The wedding of Bellatrix Black and Rodolphus Lestrange was going to be quite the stiff event. Sirius was forced to attend even after his mother decided he wasn’t worthy of the Black name. Shortly after Walburga had sent the RSVP saying only she, Orion and Regulus would be going, Bellatrix had stormed into 12 Grimmauld Place and howled and shrieked until he was allowed to attend, probably only to make sure he suffered as much as possible. Sirius was sent a Howler by both Bellatrix and his mother telling him to leave the Potter Manor and return to Grimmauld Place to get ready. He was not to come home until the day before the wedding. 

There wasn’t going to be anyone there to save him from inside the wedding. Andromeda was already burnt off the family tapestry after marrying that Ted fellow. Narcissa would have been tolerable if her wretched boyfriend, Lucius Malfoy, hadn’t been invited along with her. Uncle Alphard won’t show up as a protective measure to himself. There would only be pure bloods and “upstanding citizens” in attendance. Sirius was contemplating changing his name and living off Polyjuice in the Americas just to avoid the occasion. 

Of course, he wasn’t going to go without a plan. Since he was staying with James, as was Remus, they started scheming immediately. He was going to bring the two way mirror for communication purposes and James, Remus, Dorcas and Marlene were going to infiltrate the wedding as soon as the ceremony was over and the dancing started (Peter wasn’t a part of the plan because a. he was hopeless on the dancefloor, b. he was also hopeless under pressure, and c. he was abroad with his parents for the summer). They were then going to escape on their brooms and fly back to James’ house and live happily ever after.

Pure blood weddings always had rather energetic dances, so it wasn’t going to be too difficult for his friends to blend in as long as they could match the pace of all the other dancers. As they got in, they would merge into the crowd of dancers and switch partners until one of them was partnered with Sirius and then they would edge closer and closer to the exit and break him out. It was going to be amazing. 

-

Sirius was practically choking on the dark magic in the banquet hall of the Lestrange Manor. There were plenty of Marked wizards and witches here, and some blood supremacists from the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Every single guest in attendance was pure-blood and had a teeming vault to their name. 

As the newly wedded couple said their  _ I do _ s and had their magic bound together through their joined hands, Sirius stood with the rest of the audience and clapped. He had to sit between his father and Regulus, who still hadn’t forgiven him for running away. He was already eager to get away, to get out of the company of so many Death Eaters and stuck up pure bloods. The crowd followed quickly as Bellatrix and Rodolphus walked back down the aisle, everyone ready for dinner. Sirius followed his mother and father to the magically expanded dining room of the Lestrange Manor and with the excuse of needing to go to the bathroom, Sirius slipped away down a hallway to talk to James. 

He walked just far enough into the Manor that he would be able to scream for help, but far enough to not be discovered by wandering guests, and took out his two way mirror. He tapped it a few times, muttering about James not paying attention before his reflection rippled and James’ and Marlene’s faces appeared in front of him. 

“Hey! You’re alive!” Marlene says, grinning at him. Sirius could hear Dorcas scoff affectionately at her girlfriend in the background, and soon Remus’ face took over the entire mirror. They seemed to be outside in the woods, probably on the East border of the Lestrange land, closest to the ballroom. They were all dressed in the same stuffy pure blood robes as Sirius himself was. 

“Hi, Remus,” Sirius mumbles, trying to be quiet. He smiled tentatively at the boy, whose lips turned up slightly before getting down to business. He had a nice burgundy tie on that Sirius had bought him last year, the very first Hogsmeade weekend that he successfully participated in after not having his form signed by his parents – they thought it would “teach him a lesson,” but did they really think that would work? Of course, Walburga also sent a Howler to the headmaster, saying that Sirius was to be kept at Hogwarts on every single Hogsmeade weekend, but again, the Marauders would not be stopped by something so simple as an unsigned permission slip.

“So, is the ceremony over? Or could you not handle the pure blood jargon and had to get away?” Remus asks with a slight smirk, and James’ face reappeared to listen in. Dorcas and Marlene could be heard talking quietly behind the boys, but Sirius couldn’t make out what they were saying.

“No, the wedding part is over. They’re all getting ready to eat dinner now, then speeches, blah blah blah, and then the dancing will start in around an hour,” Sirius says. He had stolen an itinerary from the foyer while his mother was exchanging shallow small talk with the other Blacks in attendance so he could coordinate the escape to be as smooth as possible. 

“Well, we’d better get into position then,” James says, briefly disappearing before coming back into the mirror with his arms around Dorcas’ and Marlene’s shoulders. There was a clattering noise in the background, probably the brooms knocking together. James had better not damage his broom. “C’mon, girls, wish him luck! He might get turned into a Death Eater by breathing in too much dark magic in the air!”

“Good luck, Sirius. I hope you don’t turn into a Death Eater through osmosis,” Dorcas says, and laughs when James turns a confused look on her and whispers  _ osmosis? _ to himself. Marlene sticks up her thumbs and smiles at him reassuringly. Remus, still holding the mirror, grinned at Sirius before putting the mirror away, and Sirius’ reflection returned.

He looked up and checked the corridors to make sure no one was around before pocketing the mirror and walking back towards the dining room. He steeled himself as he walked in, getting ready to be forced to talk to his rather unpleasant relatives. After finding his table quickly, the first course came out of the kitchens carried by house elves, and everyone started to eat.

-

As soon as everyone was finished their pudding and every dish was whisked away by the house elves, the crowd got up from their tables and headed towards the East wing of the Manor, where the ballroom sat. Sirius was most excited for this part of the day, because for one, he had been in the company of awful people for the day so far, and two, he always got a rush from pranks, but a whole escape plan was even better. Also, he’s an excellent ballroom dancer and if nothing else, he’ll make everyone’s jaws drop once he steps onto the dancefloor.

In the ballroom there are chairs set up around the room and a bar near the far corner but most of the floor is left for dancing space. Pure blood weddings always had exquisite dancing, it was almost more important than the actual marriage. The witches usually ended the night with blisters on their feet or bare foot, and no wizard’s tie stayed on the whole night.

Sirius knew he needed to give the signal to his friends through the mirror but he couldn’t get away a second time. When he arrived at the dinner table late, Walburga had given him the nastiest look and he was sure it would come to hexes if he ran off again. There was a door at the opposite wall leading to the court yard where Remus, James, Marlene and Dorcas should be waiting. 

Instead, he put his hand in his robes pocket and tapped on the mirror a few times, waiting for either James or Remus to tap back, vibrating the mirror ever so slightly. He waited about a minute but when he felt no reciprocating taps, he felt a wave of worry swell over him, wondering if his friends had been caught. He managed to stay calm and decided to wait a few minutes to try the signal again. He couldn’t be acting shifty if he was going to get away with this.

By now, Bellatrix and Rodolphus were done their first dance and Cygnus Black replaced the new husband to dance with his daughter, Rodolphus now dancing with Druella Black. Sirius couldn’t be bothered to watch, but everyone around him was entranced by the rather amateur dancing. Really, Bellatrix’s beauty did not translate into grace or elegance at all. She was better at faster, more aggressive dances that might mimic the moves of a battle. She was too focused on looking natural to flow, and Sirius cringed every time Cygnus stepped on her toes. 

After the Father Daughter dance ended everyone stepped onto the dance floor together. Sirius tapped at the mirror in his pocket a few more times and hurried to follow the crowd. He ended up dancing with his mother first, much to both of their displeasures. They were doing a basic waltz, nothing special, a dance Sirius has known since he could walk. He allowed himself to focus on the plan for his escape as he danced, and suddenly he felt the mirror buzz, indicating one of his friends signaling him. They were going to come in soon. It was now or never.

A new song started and Sirius held in the sigh of relief when he switched partners, now dancing with Regulus as his parents now danced together. As much as his brother sent venomous looks in his direction and gloated about being the sole heir of the family, they were great dancing partners. They had learnt together, switching off leading, so they were comfortable dancing together and it showed. 

“You still hate me?” Sirius says in a low voice, not knowing what the answer would be.

“Oh, please, not everything’s about you,” Regulus scoffs, and though he didn't answer, Sirius smirks at him and squeezes his hand. “Oh, shut up,” he says, looking away, and Sirius knows that he was right.

As they spun across the floor, Sirius tried to keep an eye on the door, and after another two partner changes, he was now dancing with one of his great-aunts. He managed to turn in time to see the door to the courtyard open and he watched his friends sneak in. Every single guest was dancing, so no one noticed as the four teenagers started dancing, James and Marlene and Remus and Dorcas pairing up and starting to do the foxtrot along with everyone else. It was a good thing James was a good enough dancer to help teach their friends along with Sirius, because no one but the two boys knew any ballroom dancing. 

Sirius was currently dancing near the north end of the ballroom, and he was going in the wrong direction to get close to his friends. He decided to take lead and start changing the direction so he could change partners with someone closer to his friends, and ended up dancing with none other than Bellatrix.

“Hello, Siri,” Bellatrix simpers, clutching his hand a little too tightly and starting to lead. She was much better at faster dances, so he had to actually focus on the dance with her so as to not lose step with her. And of course to make sure she doesn’t pull out her wand and hex him for  _ daydreaming _ as she often says, waspish at not having her audience’s full attention at all times.

Over Bellatrix’s shoulder, Sirius could see both Marlene and Remus dancing nearby, Marlene with a rather short man, a Rosier, he thought, and Remus with an old witch Sirius didn’t recognize. It was good that no one had recognized the newcomers because he didn’t think Bellatrix would take very well to having her wedding crashed by blood traitors.

“Hello, Bellatrix,” Sirius replies, keeping his face neutral and making sure to keep eye contact with his cousin. She wasn’t going to scare him into backing down as if they were animals. She kept pushing him backwards, taking the man’s role, and Sirius was none too eager to fuss about it when he was so close to getting away relatively unscathed (on any other day he would have riled her up on purpose, but he didn’t want his friends to get caught up in the ensuing battle).

They danced relatively silently until the song changed again and  _ finally _ Sirius was in reach of one of his friends. The music changed to something more fast-paced and he spun, leaving Bellatrix to join someone else and switching partners. He grabbed Remus by the arm, Marlene having already moved back closer to the courtyard door, relieved that he was away from his bloody cousin. He felt his chest bubbling with excitement as the Viennese Waltz started, taking lead and pushing Remus backwards into a spin.

“Oh my god, we’ve done it,” Sirius whispers giddily to Remus, pressing in closer to spin in a tighter circle around the floor. They were getting closer and closer to the doorway, but all five friends couldn’t leave at once. A quick survey of the room saw that James and Marlene were dancing together, Dorcas dancing with a distant relative of Sirius’. James and Marlene were closest to the door and could probably get outside by the end of this dance, what with the fast pace and all the spinning making it easier to get away unnoticed. Dorcas was a bit farther out, but she was still closer than Remus and Sirius were.

“We haven’t done anything yet,” Remus mutters back, a tentative smile forming on his face nonetheless. He was holding Sirius’ bicep, letting him lead despite being a good four inches taller than him. They were pressed close together and on any other occasion, Sirius would be getting hot and bothered over their proximity, but right now the closeness was for safety purposes rather than the real desire to be touching. 

“Does James have the mirror?” Sirius asks, and Remus nods once and lets Sirius’ hand go to let him reach into his robes to tap the mirror again.

Sirius is watching James more obviously now, and sees the exact moment he feels the buzz of the mirror. He’s about ten feet from the door to the courtyard as he looks around the room, finding Sirius and Remus and nodding, understanding and spinning Marlene toward the door. It’s open now for air flow, so they won’t have as much difficulty being discreet in their escape. 

Soon, James and Marlene were out the door and into the courtyard without detection. Dorcas had gotten closer to the door, too, after realizing that her girlfriend was already outside, so on Sirius’ signal, she left her partner with another guest and went out the door too.

Now it was their turn to get out to the courtyard. It was all going so smoothly, so of course now it had to go wrong. 

As the two boys were getting closer to the door the music changed, and suddenly Regulus appeared in front of them, glaring at Sirius. He shoved his brother until he lost his grip on Remus’ arm and Regulus replaced him. Sirius shot Remus a panicked look as he was tugged away, his friend dancing with his brother, but he tried to take it in stride. At least Remus didn’t look uncomfortable. After all, Regulus couldn’t manage to truly hate any of Sirius’ friends. 

So now the plan has proved  _ not _ foolproof. It’s not like all of the Marauders’ operations have gone smoothly. A little improvisation wouldn’t hurt.

Sirius left the dancefloor for the first time that night and sat in a corner, one with a clear view of the courtyard door and of Remus dancing. He was relatively tucked away, and the only wizards and witches sitting were a ways away. As discreetly as he could, he took out his mirror and immediately James’ face appeared. 

“Mate! Why haven’t you come out yet? And where’s Remus?” James whispers. 

“Remus is dancing with Regulus,” Sirius says, looking up briefly to see if anyone was close by. His brother and friend were now dancing toward the complete opposite end of the ballroom, farther than Sirius wanted from the door. “He came up and ripped him out of my hands, the brute.”

“Merlin, Sirius! You’ve thrown him to the wolves!” James says, and Sirius wasn’t going to comment on the unintentional pun. James sounded angry, but Sirius knew his mother hen instincts were just kicking in. He always felt the need to look after all of his friends, but he’d never forgive anyone who hurt Remus. “Well, how are you going to get out now? We’ve got the brooms around the hedge outside the courtyard border, but we can’t sit about for long.”

“First of all, you know Reggie wouldn’t hurt Remus, he’s probably had heart eyes for him since his first year,” Sirius grumbles, and refuses to ponder the meaning of the look James gives him, “and second, I’m going to steal him right back. I’m going to get back on the dance floor and get Remus back, and then cross the room from wherever I get him quickly enough to get out before another partner change.”

“Alright then, we’ll be ready for whenever you get outside, but if you’re not here in ten minutes, I’m going to assume you’ve died and I’m going to come back in to collect your bodies,” James says, and after a nod, Sirius’ reflection is looking back at him in the mirror. 

-

Sirius spun Mrs Longbottom away from him into the waiting arms of her new partner and moved to meet Remus. Regulus let go of his hands and after glaring at Sirius, went off to sit by the edge of the dance floor. 

“I am so sorry that you had to dance with him,” Sirius says as soon as they start moving together. He lets Remus lead this time, purely to appease him. Remus is a good dancer, but he isn’t as confident as he should be in his skills, so he absolutely could be better.

Remus raises his eyebrows and says, “Regulus isn’t too bad of a dancer. I’ve suffered worse.” 

“Alright, alright, you don’t have to lie,” Sirius says, “and I’m the better dancer, of course.” 

“Sure, sure,” Remus says in an absent voice, a little smirk forming on his lips. They were getting closer and closer to the door, they were going to get out this time.

“Excuse me, I’ll step on your toes if you don’t stop that. You know damn well I’m better,” Sirius pouts, only slightly offended that Remus would dare slander his name like that. Sirius was absolutely better than Regulus, but even if he wasn’t, Remus was supposed to agree! His friend should really know better.

“Yes, of course, Sirius.” 

Sirius is about to huff at him when Remus looks directly into his eyes and smiles and suddenly he can’t breathe. 

And then they’re right next to the door. 

Sirius wrenches his eyes away from Remus’ face long enough to grab him by the wrist and drag him out into the courtyard and to where James, Marlene and Dorcas are waiting. If anyone notices Sirius’ flaming cheeks, no one comments on it.

“Let’s go, then!” Sirius says, and James slaps him on the back and hands him his broom, passing Remus’ his next. Marlene and Dorcas are already in the air, hovering in wait. Sirius doesn’t wait for anyone, just mounts his broom and takes off in the direction of James’ house. 

-

After the rather long flight to the Potter Manor, they’re all exhausted and ready for bed. Dorcas and Marlene have a room next to James’, and Remus and Sirius will sleep in James’ room with him. There were always extra beds and futon mattresses to be had at the Potters’, but Sirius already had his own bed since he had officially moved in after being disowned by his mother. Plenty of good things had come out of being burnt off the family tapestry (and plenty of bad things, but we’re going to ignore those), but being able to live with his best mate and Mrs Potter as acting mother of the house was probably one of the best. 

The girls went to their room soon after putting their brooms away, shedding most of their robes and having a cup of tea in the kitchen, leaving the boys to putter about before admitting they needed sleep. James was practically swaying on his feet, but he was checking Remus’ face for any sign of wind burn, knowing his scars would get particularly irritated. Sirius was just about ready to faceplant in his cup, but he wasn’t going to go up first. He still felt a bit like an intruder in the home, even after living with James for a couple of months. 

“Alright, alright, James,” Remus says, batting at the hands on his face until James steps back. “You’re going to fall asleep standing up if you don’t go to bed.” James nodded, in a stupor from fatigue, and left the kitchen to go to their room without a word of protest. 

Once they were alone, Remus turned to him and smiled a small smile. His eyes were drooping a bit, but he didn’t look dead on his feet like Sirius felt. “I’m glad we got you out of there. Wouldn’t want you being tainted by those dark wizards anymore than necessary.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Sirius says, wiping his face to try and rub away the tiredness. He didn’t want to have to go to bed when Remus was here, talking to him alone. “I had fun, though. I didn’t think I could have possibly had a good experience on a day like today.”

“Dancing with you was fun,” Remus says in a fond voice, and Sirius looks up to meet his eyes. He hopes his face isn’t too red, but he feels the heat flooding his cheeks and he isn’t too convinced that he isn’t a tomato at the moment. “I was just teasing you before. I do think you’re a better dancer than your brother, Sirius.”

“Of course you do, you’re an intelligent person,” Sirius says, and he wonders if Remus is still teasing him now. He gets up quickly, not wanting to know, really, and says, “Well, off to bed with us. I need my beauty sleep, and you need to sleep before James flays me for keeping you up.”

He stands without argument and Sirius walks out of the kitchen to go upstairs. He can practically feel Remus walking behind him, and when he turns into the washroom to brush his teeth and wash his face, Remus follows. They brush their teeth, side by side in silence, then take turns wetting a cloth to wipe their faces with. Sirius patted his face dry with a towel and went to leave the bathroom, but Remus tugged at his sleeve and pulled him into a chaste kiss. 

_ Oh Merlin, _ Sirius thought,  _ at least we've already brushed our teeth _ . The kiss was sweet and closed-mouthed, Remus’ lips only a slight pressure on his own, and as his eyes fluttered shut, he pressed closer and brought his hands up to cradle his jaw. He smelled like the mint toothpaste they had both used, and a hint of his natural woody smell. Sirius had found out in Potions class one year that it was the smell of Amortentia. 

Remus pulls away first, looking pleasantly dazed, and says, “I hope I can dance with you again sometime soon.” And then he left Sirius in the washroom by himself.

After Remus was out of sight, Sirius fist pumped, of course. His heart was going to beat out of his chest, he couldn’t believe that Remus would kiss him. If he didn’t stop smiling, his face would cramp. This was amazing, but James. Oh Merlin, James. Sirius hoped he never found out about this, so he could never gloat to him about it.

Sirius entered the bedroom after an appropriate amount of time spent celebrating and quietly moved past a snoring James. Remus was turned towards the wall, but he knew he couldn’t be asleep that quickly. Sirius got into his bed beside Remus’ and waited for him to turn. Thankfully it didn’t take long before he was rolling over and smiling tiredly at him. 

“Hey,” Sirius whispers, smiling back, maybe a little too brightly. He reached his arm across the gap between their two beds, and Remus grasped his hand and squeezed once. 

“Hey, Sirius,” Remus whispers back, and then closes his eyes. His lips are still quirked upwards in his small, adorable smile, and Sirius feels his chest fill with an unidentified emotion. As he falls asleep, he feels warm all over and he must’ve fallen asleep with a grin on his face. 

**Author's Note:**

> i was partly inspired by a tiktok by @disxobeane posted on 9-16 with the howl's moving castle theme with the text "i cant stop thinking about that one tiktok that said imagine dancing with your enemy to this, like its so perfect what" and then BAM i had an idea. not really enemy, but secret crush ofc bc who doesn't love a lil sirius/remus fluff.
> 
> kudos if you liked it, comment? please??? im using puppy dog eyes PLEASE comment


End file.
